The Aabenraa facility in southern Denmark is expected to begin operations in the second quarter of 2019. The first Danish data center from Apple, in Viborg, is set to open later this year.

– Flickr/Mike Deerkoski

Seeds of the future

“We’re thrilled to be expanding our data center operations in Denmark, and investing in new sources of clean power,” Erik Stannow, Nordic manager for Apple, said to Reuters in an email.

“The planned facility in Aabenraa, like all of our data centers, will run on 100 percent renewable energy from day one, thanks to new clean energy sources we’re adding.”

Stannow added that the one of the main reasons for choosing Denmark twice was the reliability of its electrical grid.

Perhaps another reason for turning to the country is that Apple has had a relatively easy time building its Viborg facility there. Announced at the same time as the Viborg project, Apple’s Galway, Ireland facility has faced far greater hurdles.

Repeatedly challenged and delayed, work has yet to begin in earnest. The project is currently awaiting a decision by the Irish High Court over whether it will get planning permission, but a shortage of judges has meant that the ruling has been pushed back until July 27.